Sleep in Adolescents Attending Australian Boarding Schools: A Review and Interim Recommendations

Boarding schools, by definition, house students in residence either on campus or close by in residential facilities - where the sleep environment is likely to differ from their home environment. For boarders, being in the boarding environment occurs alongside a convergence of psychosocial and physiological factors likely to impact adolescent sleep. This paper comprises a review of the literature on sleep and boarding students in the Australian context. We also propose recommendations aligned with the scientific evidence base that can be used to promote healthy sleep in Australian boarding school students, focusing on staff training and sleep knowledge, daily routines, sleeping arrangements, and student mental health and wellbeing. It must be noted that these recommendations should be considered interim recommendations until further research is performed in the area. Further, we suggest the development of standardised practice guidelines, to ensure that student sleep is supported appropriately within the Australian boarding context

"It's all about relationships": the place of boarding schools in promoting and managing health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander secondary school students

Introduction: In recent years, Australian government policies have promoted access to secondary education through boarding schools for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter respectfully termed Indigenous) students from remote communities. These students experience the poorest health of any Australian adolescent group. This exploratory study examines how boarding schools across Queensland promote and manage healthcare and wellbeing support for Indigenous students. Methods: Qualitative grounded theory methods were used to sample and collect data from the healthcare and wellbeing support staff of eight Queensland boarding schools using semi-structured interviews. Data were coded using NVIVO software and compared to identify the context, conditions, core process, strategies and outcomes of boarding schools' healthcare and wellbeing support. Preliminary findings were fed back to school staff and students' family members for discussion and response at an annual Schools and Communities meeting. Results: Boarding school health staff support Indigenous student-centred healthcare and wellbeing by weaving a relational network with students, families, school staff and external healthcare providers. Either through on-site or school-linked centres, they provide students with access to healthcare services, support wellbeing, and offer health education. Through these strategies, they enable students' participation in education and learning, receive quality healthcare improvement, "move to a better head space", and become responsible for their own healthcare. Enabling conditions are the professional and cultural capabilities of school staff, school leadership and commitment, compatibility of intersectoral systems and resourcing of healthcare and wellbeing support. Conclusions: Boarding schools are doing considerable work to improve the promotion and management of healthcare and wellbeing support for Indigenous students, but there is considerable variation across schools, impacts are not formally monitored or reported, and there are many opportunities for improvement. Working towards a best practice framework, school staff identified a need for a multi-levelled relational model of healthcare and wellbeing support to be iteratively embedded at each stage of the school cycle: at intake; enrolment; term one; and throughout the school year (including in emergencies/crises)

Attitude and achievement of first-year chemistry undergraduate students at the university of the South Pacific

Student attitude toward chemistry may influence engagement and achievement in chemistry-related courses, however, equivocal results in studies conducted in Western countries to date indicate this relationship requires further investigation. In this study, we investigated the correlation between attitude toward chemistry and achievement amongst a cohort of first-year undergraduate students from The University of the South Pacific (USP). A cluster analysis was used to identify low- and high-achieving groups of students to further explore potential correlations. There was a positive correlation between the cognitive and affective components of attitude among low-achieving students, but not among high-achieving students. The cognitive component of attitude did not appear to be strongly correlated with achievement in students from either group, although the affective component was positively correlated with achievement. The single item most strongly correlated with student achievement was their response on the Worthless-Beneficial scale. One of the notable findings was the differences in the attitude-achievement relationship between low-achieving and high-achieving students, suggesting that combining these clusters of students into a single group for analysis may obscure underlying correlations. Chemistry educators should continue to target their teaching styles to cater to different learning styles and achievement levels of students, including cognitive and non-cognitive learning styles. Copyright © 2022 Johnson, Reddy, Sharma, Wakeling, Mani, Benveniste, Naiker and Brown

Beyond boarding: An exploration of post-boarding school expectations, experiences and outcomes for remote Aboriginal students, their families and their communities

Education delivery and outcomes in remote Australia frequently feature in political, educational and research discourses. In particular, improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, who are largely achieving at lower levels than non-Indigenous, urban students, has been a priority for decades. Recently, boarding schools are being increasingly viewed as a ‘solution’ to the complexities and purported failure of remote education. However, the discourse supporting boarding school models has developed from a limited evidence base. Further, little space has been awarded in such discussions to the voices of those who work in, send their children to, and who access boarding. Therefore, this thesis explored the expectations, experiences and outcomes of boarding for remote Aboriginal students, their families and their communities. The research focus was developed collaboratively alongside boarding providers, community members and past boarding students from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands, and employed a case study approach to a residential program in South Australia. The research was conducted from a Grounded Theory approach, with qualitative methods combining ethnography, narrative and semi-structured interviews. 55 interviews were conducted with families (11), past students (11), community members (9), and boarding staff (24) across six APY communities, Alice Springs, and Adelaide. Findings fall broadly into three meta-themes; (1) the residence, (2) family and communication, and (3) post-boarding life. While boarding staff were clearly able to articulate the goals for the program, Critical Race Theory provided a useful lens through which to highlight underlying tensions between race, rules and relationships. Strategies for communicating with families were also identified, however it was clear that despite useful technologies, families often relied on relationships with local remote schools to support their communication with the boarding program. Further, while many families made an active choice to send their children to board, for some, lack of alternative options or the knowledge and resources to access alternative options restricted their capacity to make informed choices. Many students were found to have left boarding prior to graduating from high school, making transitions post-boarding difficult and dependent on community, family and personal contexts. This thesis makes a significant contribution to a small but growing field, and is the first to holistically explore the implications of boarding for staff, families, remote communities, and for past boarding students. It explores novel applications of theory in the space, and links findings to implications for future research, policy and practice. Key recommendations include; (1) valuing and building unstructured time into residences to create informal learning opportunities and enhance relationships between staff and students, (2) bridging differences between community and residence life through introducing Anangu mentors and staff into the residence, (3) increased efforts for staff to physically visit communities for longer periods of time (for example through exchanges with remote community teachers or youth workers), (4) providing an external supports to help families to make informed choices about boarding and to navigate application processes, and (5) integrating community educators, family support and employment networks to support transitions beyond boarding

Beyond boarding: An exploration of post-boarding school expectations, experiences and outcomes for remote Aboriginal students, their families and their communities

Benveniste, TC ORCiD: 0000-0002-7189-5118Education delivery and outcomes in remote Australia frequently feature in political, educational and research discourses. In particular, improving educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, who are largely achieving at lower levels than non-Indigenous, urban students, has been a priority for decades. Recently, boarding schools are being increasingly viewed as a ‘solution’ to the complexities and purported failure of remote education. However, the discourse supporting boarding school models has developed from a limited evidence base. Further, little space has been awarded in such discussions to the voices of those who work in, send their children to, and who access boarding. Therefore, this thesis explored the expectations, experiences and outcomes of boarding for remote Aboriginal students, their families and their communities. The research focus was developed collaboratively alongside boarding providers, community members and past boarding students from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands, and employed a case study approach to a residential program in South Australia. The research was conducted from a Grounded Theory approach, with qualitative methods combining ethnography, narrative and semi-structured interviews. 55 interviews were conducted with families (11), past students (11), community members (9), and boarding staff (24) across six APY communities, Alice Springs, and Adelaide. Findings fall broadly into three meta-themes; (1) the residence, (2) family and communication, and (3) post-boarding life. While boarding staff were clearly able to articulate the goals for the program, Critical Race Theory provided a useful lens through which to highlight underlying tensions between race, rules and relationships. Strategies for communicating with families were also identified, however it was clear that despite useful technologies, families often relied on relationships with local remote schools to support their communication with the boarding program. Further, while many families made an active choice to send their children to board, for some, lack of alternative options or the knowledge and resources to access alternative options restricted their capacity to make informed choices. Many students were found to have left boarding prior to graduating from high school, making transitions post-boarding difficult and dependent on community, family and personal contexts. This thesis makes a significant contribution to a small but growing field, and is the first to holistically explore the implications of boarding for staff, families, remote communities, and for past boarding students. It explores novel applications of theory in the space, and links findings to implications for future research, policy and practice. Key recommendations include; (1) valuing and building unstructured time into residences to create informal learning opportunities and enhance relationships between staff and students, (2) bridging differences between community and residence life through introducing Anangu mentors and staff into the residence, (3) increased efforts for staff to physically visit communities for longer periods of time (for example through exchanges with remote community teachers or youth workers), (4) providing an external supports to help families to make informed choices about boarding and to navigate application processes, and (5) integrating community educators, family support and employment networks to support transitions beyond boarding

Reflexivity, relationships and remoteness: Applying qualitative research tools in Australian Aboriginal communities

The following chapter draws on the experience of using qualitative methods (in particular Grounded Theory) in the context of a doctoral research project that worked with Aboriginal communities in Australia. Highlighting key issues to consider when entering this context as an ‘outsider’, it offers a reflection on the lessons learned throughout the research process. As a novice researcher it was found that reflexivity was a particularly useful tool in working through the more complex interactions and power dynamics that exist between the research, researcher and participants. Furthermore, building respectful and reciprocal relationships through qualitative approaches such as ethnography was found to be highly beneficial to the integrity of the research. Interviewing participants from a culture other than my own, for whom English was a second, third or fourth language, required engagement with an Aboriginal Community Researcher and interpreter. This role proved to be broader than originally anticipated, incorporating both cultural brokerage and research support. Flexibility in the research process is also discussed as key to working in remote contexts, including adapting interview style, location, and timing of the project to meet participants’ needs. Overall, the chapter provides a unique perspective of the benefits of qualitative research in cross-cultural research in the Australian context

Exploring Queensland secondary teacher induction training undertaken prior to working with remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities that are considered remote to metropolitan-dwelling, non-Indigenous Australians experience challenges attracting and retaining qualified teachers. Initial teacher education (ITE) is known to inadequately prepare teachers to engage Indigenous Australian students, however, we understand little about the induction training received by postgraduate secondary teachers prior to commencing work in remote schools with high enrolments of Indigenous students. This exploratory study investigated the relevance of the information provided in pre-service induction training and how this translated into classroom practice. Thirty-four Queensland secondary teachers with experience educating remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students responded to an online questionnaire investigating four different types of pre-service induction training: cross-cultural awareness, culturally appropriate pedagogy, classroom management, and student social and emotional wellbeing. Thematic analysis of their open-text responses identified three themes: training content, application of training and applicability to Indigenous students. Findings indicated inconstancies in completion rates, content significance and conversion of material into effectual classroom practices. It is suggested that providing community-specific pre-service induction training for Queensland secondary teachers could support them to engage remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in learning and may reduce the high frequency of teacher transfers and increase attendance rates of students

Researching together: Reflections on ethical research in remote Aboriginal communities

Ethical research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a complex and delicate space. It often juxtaposes Western views of ethical practice with Indigenous worldviews and values. The lead author's doctoral research project has focused on the expectations, experiences and outcomes of boarding school for remote Aboriginal students, families and communities. This paper presents a thematic analysis of the reflections of the authors on working together on this research as a non-Indigenous researcher and an Aboriginal Community Researcher. Strategies to implement what the authors and literature describe as ethical practice in remote Aboriginal communities are discussed. Implications for future research and lessons learned through this experience are identified

Putting Children’s Sleep Problems to Bed: Using Behavior Change Theory to Increase the Success of Children’s Sleep Education Programs and Contribute to Healthy Development

Sleep is critical for the healthy development of children, yet most children simply don’t get enough. Whilst school based sleep education programs have been developed for parents and their children, they have had mixed success. We consider how existing school-based sleep education programs can be improved by applying a broader model to behaviour change theory. We find that the mixed success of school-based sleep education programs may be due to a plausible but misleading assumption that simply increasing information about the importance of sleep and the risks of insufficient and/or inefficient sleep, will necessarily result in improved sleep behaviours. We identify the potential benefits of using a more inclusive behavior change theory in the development of sleep education programs with a particular need for theories that incorporate the multiple biological, environmental and social impacts on children’s sleep. Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological model is presented to illustrate how one such inclusive behavior change theory could significantly improve the success of sleep education programs and ultimately support the healthy development of children

Connections, community and context: The importance of post-boarding school pathways and re-engagement for remote Aboriginal students

For many remote Aboriginal Australian students, periods of time during their secondary education are spent living away from home at a boarding school. While financial, political and community support is burgeoning for boarding models that provide scholarships, sports programs or accommodation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, very little academic research or evidence exists that examines the experiences of students post-boarding. This paper forms part of a broader doctoral research study, but specifically focuses on how past students, families and communities from remote South Australia view the outcomes of boarding. Using a Grounded theory design, thematic analysis of 32 semi-structured interviews with past students, families and community members led to the identification of three main themes: connections (early exits), community (re-engaging in education), and context (employment in remote communities).  Findings indicated that outcomes are not linear nor easily defined. Developing a theory of change was recommended as a future approach to help families, students and remote schools to clearly define goals and measures of success for each student, recognising a range of interpretations and conceptions of ‘success’, and adapting these goals as necessary